D.H Lawrence: 'the Virgin and the Gipsy, ' Study of Chapter Ix

In What Ways Is Chapter IX Important to the Reader's Understanding Of 'The Virgin and the Gipsy' as a Whole? The events which take place in chapter IX of Lawrence's, 'The Virgin and the Gipsy' act as a series of conclusions to themes and ideas which have been running throughout the novella. Most prominent is the conclusion of the relationship between Yvette and the Gipsy, in fact the entire chapter becomes highly sexualised as Lawrence depicts the metaphorical (or anticipates the literal) sexual union of Yvette and the Gipsy. This union also concludes the conflict of Yvette and the highly conventional bourgeois household in which she lives, and separates her from it. Lawrence uses many techniques in the chapter to depict these conclusions. The primary event of the chapter, and indeed the whole novella is the flood, Lawrence has made reference to rain and water throughout the novella anticipating the flood. With the arrival of the flood comes the arrival of the Gipsy to the chapter. He arrives with the force of the water, 'Down the path through the larch trees the gipsy was bounding.' He himself arrives like an elemental force and we as readers are made to wonder whether it is him who strikes her powerless, 'She was powerless, too amazed and wonder-struck,' or the water; from a feminist point of view certainly the former. The power of the flood is certainly likened to the Gipsy's masculinity, 'tawny wave-front of water advancing like a wall of lions.' Lions being highly predatory and masculine where the female is concerned. What's more, he seems o exert more force on her than the water does. Lawrence frequently repeats the forcefulness behind the Gipsy's actions, 'seizing her arm,' 'The gipsy dragged her', 'the gipsy clawed his way up this terrace to the dry level of the path, dragging her after him,' 'then he pulled her up.' Throughout the ordeal Yvette hardly ever acts for herself and he completely dominates all of her movements. Whilst it is true that the Gipsy was acting to save her life, Lawrence has created the situation where Yvette is in need of his 'forceful' actions. This situation also allows for the chapter to become highly sexualised, which ultimately leads to the ambiguous sexual conclusion of Yvette and the Gipsy. Lawrence uses the flood to make frequent sexual references which when looked at as direct metaphors, graphically describe the act of intercourse. 'She felt a dull but stunning bruise somewhere,' 'where is the chimney? the back chimney?- which room the chimney will stand,' 'watery explosion' followed directly by 'Something had gone down.' When looked at in this way, certain parallels to the literal can be made and whilst some would find this viewpoint perverse, especially feminist readers, the fact that Lawrence has revelled in what conventionality deems to be perverse in the past cannot be overlooked. Indeed these descriptions are followed by the Gipsy's forceful commands that Yvette should remove her clothing, 'No! Take your things off and I rub you with this towel.' The situation's result leaves Yvette and the Gipsy standing completely naked of full view of each other and then going to bed together in order to keep warm, 'The Gipsy nodded, and took her in his arms, and held her in a clasp like a vice.' Again the Gipsy only does so out of care for Yvette so that she may not die from the cold, but it cannot be overlooked that Lawrence has created a situation where these actions are necessary. No physical sexual acts are described here but Lawrence deliberately leaves the chapter in a state of ambiguity, however after many descriptions of Yvette's sexual attraction to the Gipsy throughout the novella and her seeing his naked body after having just saved her life we are almost prompted to believe that a proceeding act of sexual intercourse would fall natural in place. Nonetheless the metaphorical union of the two, whether leading to an act of intercourse or not certainly serves readers as a conclusion to the relationship of the 'virgin' and the gipsy. The conclusive union of Yvette and the Gipsy occurs at the same time as the undignified death of the Mater. Deliberately suggesting that nature, the flood and even the Gipsy have vanquished, as Lawrence sees it her unnatural and conventional hold on the household. 'She had her hands lifted and clawing, as the first water swirled around her legs, and her coffin-like mouth was opened in a hoarse scream... and saw Granny bob up, like a strange float, her face purple, her blind blue eyes bolting, spume hissing from her mouth. One old purple hand clawed at a banister rail, and held for a moment, showing the glint of a wedding ring.' Even in death Lawrence allows the Mater no dignity and his extensive description seems to enjoy the scene. The fact that the wedding ring is the last thing that we see of the Mater is also noteworthy; Christian conventionality is defeated by nature, openly suggesting that there is something unnatural about modern Christianity. This again serves readers as a conclusion to Yvette's conflict with the household, she has broken away through her union with the Gipsy and at the same time, Granny and her hold on the house has been vanquished. We see then that the flood of chapter IX brings together Yvette and the Gipsy in metaphorical sexual union concluding the sexual tension between the two which has been built up throughout the novella. The flood also concludes the conflict between Yvette the conventional household she is trapped within, the mater is vanquished and the house itself destroyed, metaphorically depicting the breakdown of the household. We can therefore see that chapter IX serves readers as an overall conclusion to a number of themes and conflicts which have been brewing throughout the novella.